342 A SPORTING TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA chap. 



mouth and from two great holes in its side, and, after a 

 Httle, it seemed almost to have ceased to breathe. To 

 try if it was now really dead, I threw a stone at it, when, 

 like a flash the beast was up and on me. I sprang to 

 my feet, rifle in hand, but there was no time to raise the 

 weapon to the shoulder, so I fired from my hip. The 

 bullet passed through the brain and the boar fell dead, 

 its ugly head and gleaming tusks not a foot from my leg. 

 I brought away the skull and skin, to have set up as a 

 reminder of the gamest animal I have yet met. 



Next day we again had an unsuccessful hunt after 

 buffalo, for, although we found the herd in the evening, a 

 mule, which followed in our wake contrary to my orders, 

 disturbed them, and they bolted. I was so far distant 

 from camp that I decided to sleep on the trail. Fortu- 

 nately very little rain fell during the night, but the 

 mosquitoes were awful. At daybreak I again started 

 after the buffalo, and four hours later found them under 

 a tree on an open plain, but once more, while I was 

 crawling towards them, they suddenly dashed off; they 

 had again heard my wretched caravan advancing. I 

 ran to the top of a spur, and was in time to see them 

 walking slowly through some bush. Full of hope, I had 

 almost got within shot, when one of my muleteers 

 shouted to the others that he had found water, and again 

 off they bolted. I fired a long shot and followed for 

 some distance, but there were no signs of any of the 

 beasts having been hit. At eleven o'clock my men 

 brought us some much-needed food and water, for it was 

 just thirty hours since we had had a square meal, and 

 fourteen since a drop of water had passed my lips. 



